Goodyear/Chance-Vought FG-1D Corsair

The gull-wing design of the F4U Corsair makes the aircraft one of the most distinctive fighters of World War II. First flown on May 29, 1940, it was the first single-engine fighter able to exceed 400 mph in level flight. This example came from an order for the Royal Navy that was cancelled when the war ended. Delivered to the US Navy in July, 1945, this Corsair spent its career at Stateside bases until retirement in 1957. The paint scheme is that of Major Archie Donahue’s F4U-1C Corsair when he served with VMF-112 at Guadalcanal. On May 13, 1943, Maj. Donahue destroyed five Zero aircraft in a single engagement, thus becoming an “Ace-in-a-day”. Nikon D300 w/18-200 mm, processed with Photomatix Pro and Aperture.